Various parts of the coffee tree have been used for nutritional purposes for a relatively long time (see e.g., Pendergrast, M. Uncommon Grounds. Basic Books: New York, 1999). For example, coffee tree leaves and fresh, ripe coffee cherries were boiled to make tea. In other examples, the pulp of the coffee cherry can be fermented to produce wine as described in Chinese Patent CN 1021949. In a still further well known example, the seeds (i.e., the beans) of the coffee tree are extracted from the cherry, dried, roasted, ground, and extracted with hot water to provide the beverage that many users enjoy as coffee.
Unfortunately, coffee cherries, and especially the pulp and husk tend to rapidly spoil in the presence of molds, fungi, and other microorganisms, and therefore contain almost always significant levels of mycotoxins (see e.g., Pittet, A., Tornare, D., Huggett, A., Viani, R. Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Ochratoxin A in Pure and Adulterated Soluble Coffee Using anf Immunoaffinity Column Cleanup Procedure. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1996, 44, 3564-3569; or Bucheli, P., Kanchanomai, C., Meyer I., Pittet, A. Development of Ochratoxin A during Robusta (Coffea canephora) Coffee Cherry Drying. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2000, 48, 1358-1362). Thus, beverages produced from the coffee pulp, husk, mucilage, and/or whole coffee cherry generally failed to find acceptance as beverage ingredients (Although one product is advertised as “coffee cherry tea” [http://www.paradiserelocation.com/paradisetogo/foodproducts.htm], the product is actually made from coffee cherry pulp and was recently determined to have substantial quantities of mycotoxins).
Even in situations where the pulp, mucilage, and hull is removed, mycotoxins may still be present on and/or in the coffee bean. Consequently, considerable efforts have been undertaken to detoxify coffee beans and other food products. For example, where the mycotoxin is already present in the food product, selected mycotoxins can be extracted from the food product using various solvents and procedures as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,756 to Canella et al. On the other hand, various mycotoxins can be adsorbed from the food product onto a mineral carrier as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,623 to Alonso-Debolt.
In still other methods, selected mycotoxins can be degraded using enzymes as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,820 to Duvick et al. The inventors in the '820 reference even contemplate that the genes encoding for such enzymes may be cloned to produce transgenic plants that are then thought to be less contaminated with mycotoxins. Alternatively, microorganisms may be employed to destroy enzymatically mycotoxins found in food products as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,188 to Duvick et al.
Where mycotoxins are not yet produced by a microorganism present on a plant or other food stuff, pesticides or other compositions that control microbial growth or production of mycotoxins in microorganisms may be employed. For example, Emerson et al. describe in U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,794 use of a saponin as a synergist to control colonization and/or growth of plant and animal pathogens. Alternatively, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,606 to Bland, propionic acid on a carrier may be employed as a diffusible growth inhibitor for various microorganisms. Further known compositions (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,599 to Subbiah or U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,323 to Leary) may be employed to suppress or at least reduce synthesis of mycotoxins in a microorganism.
Alternatively, mycotoxin-containing food products may be blended with uncontaminated food products to a concentration that is acceptable and/or below the maximum allowable amount of mycotoxins in food products (see e.g., Herrman, T. and Trigo-Stockli, D.; Mycotoxins in Feed Grains and Ingredients; Kansas State University, May 2002), or (at least potentially) mycotoxin-containing coffee cherry products may be employed in a non-food product. In still other uses, the mycotoxin content may not be considered relevant as the coffee cherry product is incinerated and thus the mycotoxins are at least partially destroyed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,752, GB 2026839, or CA 1104410. Here, the inventor teaches that the coffee cherries may be compressed, dehydrated, ground, and roasted to yield a smokable product.
However, while most of the known methods reduce the concentration of mycotoxins to at least some degree, numerous disadvantages remain. Among other things, additional processing steps will require dedicated equipment, thereby increasing processing time and costs. Moreover, and especially where pesticides and/or fungicides are used, new problems with residual toxic chemicals may arise.
Thus, despite numerous beneficial properties of coffee cherries and its components, whole coffee cherries are generally not used as food products as mycotoxins are typically present in substantial quantities in the ripe and overripe fruit. Therefore, there is still a need to provide improved methods and compositions for coffee cherries, and especially for products comprising coffee cherries with low or no mycotoxin content for human and veterinary consumption.